The invention proceeds from a read apparatus for chip cards according to the preamble of claim 1. In known read apparatuses of this type, the limit switch closing the circuit between the contacts and the read tracks is in the vicinity of the contact support, as a rule, directly on top of the contact support, such that, upon insertion into the card slot, the chip card entrains one of the contacts and presses it against the opposing contact immediately before reaching its final position. Functionally, the arrangement has largely proven itself, but nonetheless the position of the limit switch in the end area of the chip card is considered disadvantageous in that, in case of frequent actuation, that is, frequent insertion end pulling out of the card, the appearance of worn-off material from the card is inevitable, accumulating in particular on the opposing contact and leading to an insulation effect all the way to complete interruption of functioning.
The present invention is based on the problem of creating a read apparatus for chip cards in which the contamination of the contact by worn-off material or by the card in some other manner is largely avoided.